Residents in south Belfast trapped this rodent

Residents in the Donegall Road area have been trapping the pests, but want the council, Department of Environment and contractors in the area to do more.

Belfast City Council has had its largest number of complaints about rats in more than three decades.

But the council said increased litter rather than construction was to blame.

Raymond Pullin from Roden Street told of a rat running over him as he put out his bin.

"I tilted the bin towards me to bring it out the gate and down the entry and, as I tilted it, the rat ran across my chest and over my shoulder and bounced onto the road," he said.

"That's when I knew there was rats in the garden."

One woman said she was afraid of the vermin nesting under her grandchildren's playhouse.

Ulster Unionist councillor Bob Stoker said residents wanted the rats cleared out of the area before the rest of the work on the Westlink begins.

Work on the Westlink has been blamed for the rat upsurge

"We're talking about putting contraceptives in the sewers to stop them breeding, those who miss being culled, and (DoE) Roads Service and the contractor are not taking these suggestions seriously," he said.

However, contractor Michael Deeney, from HMC Construction, said that they had done everything possible.

"Before we came into the area we got Rentokill to come in on the site to do a cull basically of the existing rat holes," he said.

"They put in a little gas pellet, sealed up the hole and killed off whatever rats were here.

"Then we put a perimeter of rat boxes around the fenced off area - there are about 40 around this compound."

However, the problem is not just confined to the area of the Westlink.

Last year, Belfast City Council received almost 6,000 pest complaints with 1,500 related to rats.

Earl D'Hulst from the council's pest control section said they had received more complaints this year than in the past 31 years.

"We don't attribute that to any building work or construction work being carried out in the city," he said.

"We attribute that to more people littering and not disposing of their rubbish properly."